Finger comb



P 2, 1952 M. A. SHANNON 2,608,975

' FINGER COMB Filed April 29, 1949 l I l l I I l lNVE oR 7 adj 54mPatented Sept. 2, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT FINGER COMB Mary AnnShannon,Lakewood, Ohio Application April 29, 1949, Serial No. 90,474

1 My invention relates to beauticians combs and relates moreparticularly to a finger comb used in hairdressing. r

It is an object of 'my invention to provide a comb of the type referredto which can be worn on the terminal end or third phalanx of a finger,the teeth of said comb projecting outwardly therefrom whereby hair maybe parted in sections by the comb and combed without interfering withthe use of the remaining fingers in setting curls.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a combofthe typereferred to which may be firmly retained on the finger during usedespite the presence of setting lotions, etc. on the hair. i .i

Another object of my invention is to provide a finger comb of the typereferred to which will fit various size fingers.

Another object of my invention is to provide a finger comb of the typereferred to which will be simple in construction; economical tomanufacture and highly simple and efficient in use.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a comb of-the typereferred to which may be retained on an operators finger throughout thesetting of an entire head, thereby decreasingthe time consumed insetting a head of hair.

Other objects of my invention and the invention itself will become morereadily apparent froma perusal of the following description inwhich'description reference will be made to the appendeddrawings, inwhich drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view-of the improved finger comb of my invention; l

Fig. 2 is a top plan view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1; -.i

- Fig. 3 is abottom plan view taken. from the line 3--3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4+4 of Fi 2;

Fig. 5 is a front enlarged elevational view of the finger comb of Figs.1 to 4 inclusive.

Fig. dis a sectional view of a modification view of the comb of myinvention, the view being similar to that of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a bottom plan view taken from the line 1--'l of Fig. 6; I i

Fig. 8 is a side elevational view of the comb of Figs. 1 to 5 inclusiveshowing the comb on the operator's finger, certain portions being dottedto more clearly illustrate the engagement of the comb with the finger.

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic view of the lower arm 5 Claims. (Cl; 132--11)and hand portion of an operator wearing the finger comb of the presentinvention on the third finger of the right hand and showing the comb incontact with a head of hair, said combbeing shown in hair partingposition; w Fig. 10 is a view similar to that of Fig.9 show-' ing thefinger comb in the hair combing position with respect to the head ofFig. 9.

Referring now to the drawings in all of which like parts are designatedby like reference characters and particularly to Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive,at l I show the improved finger comb of my inf vention. The comb l ispreferably'formed of plastic, such as styrene, or the like, and 'com-'prises a split annular substantially smo'oth'surfaced band2, a pluralityof teeth 3, 4, 5, 6,1, 8 and 9 of substantially the same lengthintegrally secured to and projecting outwardly therefrom, and arelatively longer tooth lll disposed at one side of said teeth, 3 to 9inclusive, said tooth being preferably of greater width and beingpreferably bevelled on its outer lateral face-ll.

The tooth I0 is preferably disposed on the left hand side of the combwhen the comb isviewed as shown in Fig. 2, or, in other words, thelarger tooth I0 is disposed on the sideadjacent' the little finger, whenthe comb is worn on'the third finger of the right hand. r

The comb is preferably formed with an inwardly projecting flange l4forming acontinuation of the upper surface 13 of the cylindrical band 2,said inwardly extending flange being preferably of gradually increaseddepth as it approaches the converging ends l5 and iii of the band 2. Theupper rim l3 of the band thus has a circular inner circumference and thelower rim of the band has, as shown in Fig. 2, an'inner circumference ofcylindrical form. The bandZ which is worn on the third'phalanx of thefinger, as best illustrated'i'n Fig. 8, en

compasses the nail end of the finger and due to the provision of thesplit annulus, the band is adapted to be used on differentsized'fingersof different operators, the band'expanding andthe gapenlarging on larger fingers The 'splitportion of the band is disposedadjacent the mid portion of the back of the third phalanx o'f thefinger. The band is preferably, as hereinbefore described, formed ofsubstantially form-sustain ing plastic but the material is preferablysomewhat flexible to permit a certain yielding of the band toaccommodate different sized fingers.

The said flange exerts compressive effect upon the back of the finger asshown at H in Fig. 8

and the flange is preferably of less depth in its nail encirclingportion as shown at [8 in Figure 8. The flange 14 further assists inpreventing the band from slipping on the finger when lotions etc. areused on the hair.

It will be noted that the teeth 3 to In inclusive form asemi-cylindrical grouping of the teeth outwardly projecting from the endof the finger, describing an arc therefrom, said are of the teethpreferably corresponding to the arc of the said band. In use, the toothwill be placed on the scalp and inserted under a desired section of hairto part the said hair and then, the operator, by merely drawing thefinger away from the-head of hair by lifting the hand, combs and smoothsthe said separated section of hair by lifting the hand thereby placingthe section in position, as shown in Fig. 10, for the formation of onecurl. The arcuate grouping of the teeth' further permits the comb toshape the hair sectioned and to follow the curl.

When the section thus described is parted and combed by the improvedcomb of my invention, the third finger upon which the comb may be wornis lowered and the first two fingers of the operators hand are adaptedto grasp the end of the section and to form and fasten the curl, Inusing the comb for'parting, combing and smoothing the next sectioncontrariwise, the third finger is elevated above the first two fingers.p

In the form of my invention shown in Figs. 6 and? the annular band 22 isnot split, as in the split annulus of the first form of my invention,and the flange 24 is of substantially greater depth from a substantiallymedian point of each side of the band and across the back of said bandas shown in Fig. '7 at 25. A plurality, preferably four in'number, ofpreferably triangular formed inwardly extending tapered projections 26-are disposed withinthe band initiating at the widened ridge portion 25and extending vertically of the band decreasing in taper as theseapproach the lower rim of the band, as best shown in Figs. 6 and 7.These are provided for the purpose of creating a suction grip of theband uponthe finger. v

The inner shape of the band therefore approximates the bone taper of thethird phalanx of the finger which is narrower at the outer end thereofand wider nearthe joint. In other words,

the upper rim 24 of the band has a substantially ovate innercircumference and the lower rim, as best shown in Fig. '7, has an innercircumference of cylindrical form. Furthermore, the flange 24andprojections 25 also press against the soft pad on the back of theoperators finger, as illustrated in Fig. 8 for the form of Figs. 1 toinclusive, to rigidly secure the band to the finger and to permit use onvarious size fingers, as the soft pad is displaceable to some extent sothat the comb is adapted for use on different size fingers.

The widened portions of the flange ridge 24 and projections 26 alsoassist in preventing fluid used in setting hair from causing the comb tosliparound the finger.

It will be evident that the improved comb of my invention parts andcombs the separate sections ofhair desired with a minimum of effort andwithout interfering with the curl forming orv pinning operations, thecomb remaining on the finger with which it is associated for use during.the entire hair setting operation, obviating the necessity of utilizinga comb, such as 4 the common rat-tail comb, which must be laid downduring the formation of each curl.

Although I have described my invention in connection with preferredembodiments thereof. I am aware that numerous and extensive departuresmay be made therefrom, such as in materials, etc. without, however,departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. A comb of the character described comprising an annular band, aplurality of teeth integrally formed therewith, said teeth projectingoutwardly therefrom, said plurality of teeth describing an arc outwardlyof the band; corresponding to the arc of said band, all but one of saidteeth being of the same length and one of the end teeth being relativelylonger than the other said teeth and beveled on its outer lateral face.

'2; A combof the character described, comprising an annular band, aplurality of teeth integrally formed with said bandand projectingoutwardly therefrom, said band having an inwardly projecting flange,said flange being of substantially greater thickness in the portionsthereof disposed substantially oppositely to the tooth associatedportions thereof.

3. A comb of the character described, comprising an annular band, aplurality of teeth integrally formed with said band and projectingoutwardly therefrom, said band having an inwardly extending projectingflange, said flange being of substantially greater thickness in theportions thereof disposed substantially oppositely to the toothassociated portions thereof, said band being provided on its innerperiphery with a plurality of inwardly extending projections thereon. a

4. A comb of the character described comprising an annular band, theupper rim of said band having a. substantially ovate innercircumference, and the lower rim of said band having an innercircumference of cylindrical form, said comb having a plurality of teethintegrally formed with the upper rim of said band and projectingoutwardly therefrom.

5. A comb of the character described comprising an annular band, theupper rim of said band having a substantially ovate inner circumference,and the lower rim of said ban d having an inner circumference ofcylindrical form, said comb having a plurality of teeth integrallyformed with the upper rim of said band and projecting outwardlytherefrom, inner surfaces of said band disposed oppositely to the toothprojecting portions of the band being provided with a plurality ofinwardly extending projections thereon tapered inwardly from the upperrim portions of said band to the lower rim portions.

MARY ANN SHANNON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Hollen Apr. 19, 1949

